Bulk container with removable yoke

ABSTRACT

A CONTAINER FORMED WITH A COLLAR EXTENSION WHICH IS ADAPTED TO REMOVABLY RECEIVE A HANDLE MEMBER. THE PRIOR ART IS AWARE OF BULK TRANSPORT CONTAINERS EQUIPPED WITH A LIFTING YOKE ATTACHED THERETO. LIFTING YOKES OF THE TYPE USED MUST BE RELATIVELY STRONG AND PRESENT A RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE AND HEAVY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT TO THE COMBINATION EVEN THROUGH THE YOKES ARE USED ON RELATIVELY FEW OCCASIONS SUCH AS WHEN THE CONTAINER HAS TO BE LIFTED FROM THE TOP AND AT THE POINT OF DISCHARGE OF THE GOODS. A PRIMARY OBJECT OF THIS INVENTION IS TO PROVIDE A BULK CONTAINER WHICH CAN UTILIZE READILY REMOVABLE YOKES OR HANDLE MEMBERS.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Lennart Silh-erskiold Strandvngen 6. Stockholm. Swedeh (21] Appl. No. 789,125 [221 Filed Jan. 6,1969 [45] Patented June 28. 1971 (54] BULK CONTAINER WITH REMOVABLE YOKE 5 Claims. 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 150/5. 150/1, 150/49 [51] Int. Cl 865d 25/22, 865d 33/14. B65d 89/02 (50] Field olSeareh 150/51. 1 1. 48. 49

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,207,533 12/1916 Gamble 150/49 1,413,907 4/1922 Gerstenberger 220/Drains Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Attorney-John J. Byrne ABSTRACT: A container formed with a collar extension which is adapted to removably receive a handle member. The prior art is aware of bulk transport containers equipped with a lifting yoke attached thereto. Lifting yokes of the type used must be relatively strong and present a relatively expensive and heavy piece of equipment to the combination even though the yokes are used on relatively few occasions such as when the container has to be lifted from the top and at the point of discharge of the goods. A primary object of this invention is to provide a bulk container which can utilize readily removable yokes or handle members.

BULK CONTAINER WITH REMOVABLE YOKE The invention includes a bulk container assembly including a container having a tubular body part made of flexible material, a collar part connected to or an integral part of the body part and having an opening for the passage of material and a yoke member made of a rigid material and having a width exceeding the width of the opening, the yoke member or the collar part being adjustable to allow the yoke to be inserted through the opening into the collar pan.

This collar makes it possible to safely and quickly attach the container and the lifting yoke without any further special parts or devices of any kind, which on each occasion must be attached or released from each other or from the one part or the other, taking into account that the container must not come off and it must not be damaged by the lifting yoke.

The mode of attaching or removing the yoke to or from the collar will affect the ultimate shape of the collar and details of design. The reinforced edge of the collar can be made as an unbroken ring, which is made either to be slipped over a rigid, annular yoke, more or less in the same way as a tire is put on a wheel rim or the assembly includes a cover part in connection with the tubular body below the collar part to cover material contained in the tubular body and define a cavity within the collar part for receiving the yoke and the collar part is made of flexible material and has a circular opening having a reinforced edge.

The yoke is adjustable between a folded position in which the yoke can be inserted into the opening and an extended position in which the yoke has a circular periphery having a diameter exceeding the diameter of the opening.

The collar part may have one or more slots extending downwardly from the opening in the collar and there is securing means for securing together the two edges of each slot so that, upon unlocking the locking means, the openings in the collar is enlarged to allow entry of the yoke.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following detailed description when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a transport container with an attached lifting yoke;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the container of FIG. 1 from the side, while also showing an upper section of the yoke and collar portions;

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the upper part of the container without a yoke;

H6. 4 is a partial side view ofa container;

FlG. Sis a plan view of the lifting yoke when expanded;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the lifting yoke of FIG. but contracted and ready to be inserted within the collar of the container; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan and elevation views of another embodiment where the lifting yoke is of the rigid type while the container collar is slit into sections, each having reinforced edges which are interconnected over the lifting yoke.

F IG. 1 shows a partially filled, collapsible, essentially cylindrical bulk transport container 1 which has a sacklike tubular body part in the form of an envelope 2 of a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic coated fabric, with a conical bottom 2' having an outlet spout 2" closable by a piece of cord. The sack envelope has an essentially circular top cover 3 which has an inlet spout 4 which is also closable by a piece of cord or the like. The cover 3 and the spout 4 are also made of the flexible material. The tubular envelope 2 extends upwardly beyond the cover 3 into a free section forming a flexible collar 5. The collar 5 has a reinforced and contracted edge 5. This reinforced edge can also be created by the insertion of a wire sling or rope into a seam of the collar edge, which thus forms an endless, ring-shaped and flexible sling. In this case, the collar 5 is provided with perforations 7 (FIG. 4) just above the upper cover 3 for the drainage of water off the cover 3.

A ring-shaped lifting yoke 8, which essentially has the same outer diameter as the cover 3, is provided with a pair of bars 9 capable of being engaged by some suitable lifting mechanism,

for example by a forklift truck or the hooks of a hoist. The yoke 8 has a first part and a second part 8b, each part having a lifting bar 9 secured thereto. The parts 8a and 8b are connected by a pivot joint 10 which allows pivotal movement of the parts substantially in the plane of the yoke. The part 8a is also connected by a pivot joint II to a third part 80 which has a locking device 12 at its free end. This lock 12 can be withdrawn into the outer part of section 80 against a spring inside the section by operation ofa handle 13 in a slit in the section 8c so that part 8c can fit into the open end of the, part 8b when the yoke is expanded (FIG. 5). Due to the joints l0 and I1, this yoke 8 can be contracted (FIG. 6) and placed inside the collar 5 and then expanded again until the locking device 12 secures the sections in their expanded positions whereupon the yoke 8 has a width exceeding the width of the contracted edge 5' of the collar and is located between collar 5 and cover 3 so that the contracted edge 5 of the collar 5 with the reinforcement 6 is located above the lifting yoke 8.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a container 1 having a collar 15 formed with a reinforced upper edge 15' and two vertical slits 16 thus dividing the collar into two sections, each section having a reinforced upper edge. The ends of each section are provided with connecting devices 17 in the form of a loop and a hook, which rapidly and safely can be joined to make the reinforced edges 15 of the collar sections form a continuous, annular sling after pulling the collar 15 up and over the annular yoke 18, which in this case is shown as a rigid, continuous ring with bars 19. Those sections into which the collar 15 has been cut can be turned out and down, as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 8, over the sides of the envelope 2 when the yoke 18 is not used and this prevents water and dirt from collecting inside the collar which eliminates the need for the perforation of the collar. Of course, the collar 15 could have only one slot 16 or any number as is found most suitable in practice.

It can be seen that one lifting yoke, for example yoke 8, can be used for both the containers described in here and also that the yoke does not have to accompany the container during the time of transportation but is required only when it is required to lift the container from above such as at the point of filling and at the point of discharge.

lclaim:

l. A bulk transport container assembly of the type including:

a collapsible container of flexible material having a tubular body section, a first substantially circular bottom-forming end section secured to the one end of said body section and having a substantially centrally located closable outlet opening therein, and a second substantially circular topforming end section secured to the opposite end of said body section and having a substantially centrally located closeable inlet opening therein; and

a yoke member for lifting and handling of said container and comprising an attachment portion adapted for connection with said container at the top end thereof and forming, when operative, a substantially planar and annular supporting surface for taking up the load of said container, and carrier means extending upwardly from and being rigidly secured to said attachment portion to form a load-transferring superstructure thereon capable of being engaged by suitable container lifting means;

wherein said container further comprises a collar section secured to said body section and extending upwardly therefrom along the circumference of and beyond said second end section to define with the latter a shallow cavity having a constricted opening, and unyieldable reinforcing means of high tensile strength extending along the free edge of said collar section for maintaining the construction of the cavity opening surrounded thereby;

wherein said attachment portion of the yoke member is adapted to be received in said shallow cavity defined by said collar and second end section of the container, and said carrier means of the yoke member are secured to said attachment portion interiorly of said supporting surface formed by the latter;

and wherein adjusting and locking means are provided to alternatively permit variation of the dimensional relationship between said constricted cavity opening of the container and said attachment portion of the yoke member in order to thereby permit insertion and removal of said attachment portion into and from said shallow cavity directly from above and without any relative tilting movement; and

establishment and temporary maintenance of such a predetermined dimensional relationship between said cavity opening and said attachment portion that the diameter of the former is materially smaller than the diameter of the latter in order to thereby assure reliable retention of said attachment portion within said shallow cavity, respectively.

2. A bulk transport container assembly as claimed in claim I wherein said constricted cavity opening defined by the free reinforced edge of said container collar section has a fixed diameter and wherein said adjusting and locking means comprises means in said yoke member permitting temporary reduction of the diameter of said attachment portion thereof and means for temporarily maintaining said attachment portion diameter at a predetermined magnitude materially larger than the fixed diameter of said constricted cavity opening of the container.

3. A bulk transport container assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said attachment portion of the yoke member comprises a plurality of mutually adjustable sections capable of taking a first contracted relative position in which said attachment portion is insertable through said constricted cavity opening. and a second expanded relative position in which said attachment portion has an overall outer diameter exceed ing the inner diameter of said constricted cavity opening, and wherein means are provided to temporarily immobilize said sections of the attachment portion of the yoke member in said second relative position.

4. A bulk transport container assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said collar section has spaced apertures therein to allow water to escape from within said shallow cavity surrounded thereby. said apertures having their lower borders close to the upper side of said second. top-forming section of the container.

5. A bulk transport container assembly as claimed in claim I wherein said attachment portion of the yoke member has a fixed diameter and wherein said adjusting and locking means comprises means in said collar section of the container permitting temporary splitting of said collar section and said unyieldable reinforcing means extending along the free edge thereof, so as to permit insertion and removal of said attachment portion of the yoke member, and releasable locking means for holding together the split ends of at least said unyieldable reinforcing means of the collar section in a manner to again establish the dimensional relationship between said cavity opening and said attachment portion required for reliable retention of the latter in said shallow cavity surrounded by said collar section. 

